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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fan · key · chair · court · fork · content · drill · mark

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. court — for sport
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. chair — a leader
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. key — for a lock
  8. key — in music
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. key — the most important part
  13. mark — a grade
  14. fork — in a road
  15. mark — a trace
  16. drill — army training
  17. content — happy
  18. content — the amount
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. drill — the tool
  21. court — of a king
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. court — of law

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com